No Arabic abstract
We have measured the spin fluctuations in the YBa2Cu3O6.5 (YBCO6.5, Tc=59 K) superconductor at high-energy transfers above ~ 100 meV. Within experimental error, the momentum dependence is isotropic at high-energies, similar to that measured in the insulator for two dimensional spin waves, and the dispersion extrapolates back to the incommensurate wave vector at the elastic position. This result contrasts with previous expectations based on measurements around 50 meV which were suggestive of a softening of the spin-wave velocity with increased hole doping. Unlike the insulator, we observe a significant reduction in the intensity of the spin excitations for energy transfers above ~ 100 meV similar to that observed above ~ 200 meV in the YBCO6.35 (Tc=18 K) superconductor as the spin waves approach the zone boundary. We attribute this high energy scale with a second gap and find agreement with measurements of the pseudogap in the cuprates associated with electronic anomalies along the antinodal positions. In addition, we observe a sharp peak at around 400 meV whose energy softens with increased hole doping. We discuss possible origins of this excitation including a hydrogen related molecular excitation and a transition of electronic states between d levels.
We present the results of a neutron scattering study of the high energy phonons in the superconducting graphite intercalation compound CaC$_6$. The study was designed to address hitherto unexplored aspects of the lattice dynamics in CaC$_6$, and in particular any renormalization of the out-of-plane and in-plane graphitic phonon modes. We present a detailed comparison between the data and the results of density functional theory (DFT). A description is given of the analysis methods developed to account for the highly-textured nature of the samples. The DFT calculations are shown to provide a good description of the general features of the experimental data. This is significant in light of a number of striking disagreements in the literature between other experiments and DFT on CaC$_6$. The results presented here demonstrate that the disagreements are not due to any large inaccuracies in the calculated phonon frequencies.
We have investigated the spin fluctuations at energy transfers up to ~110 meV, well above the resonance energy (33 meV) in the YBa2Cu3O6.5 ortho-II superconductor using neutron time-of-flight and triple-axis techniques. The spectrum at high energies differs from the low-energy incommensurate modulations previously reported where the incommensurate wave vector is largely independent of energy. Well above the resonance the peak of the spin response lies at wave vectors that increase with energy. Within error the excitations at all energies above the resonance are best described by a ring around the (pi, pi) position. The isotropic wave-vector pattern differs from a recently reported square pattern in different but related systems. The spin spectral weight at high-energies is similar to that in the insulator but the characteristic velocity is ~40% lower. We introduce a method of extracting the acoustic and optic weights at all energies from time-of-flight data. We find that the optic spectral weight extends to surprisingly low-energies of ~25 meV, and infer that the bilayer spin correlations weaken with increase in hole doping. When the low-energy optic excitations are taken into account we measure the total integrated weight around (pi, pi), for energies below 120 meV, to agree with that expected from the insulator. As a qualitative guide, we compare spin-wave calculations for an ordered and a disordered stripe model and describe the inadequacy of this and other stripe models for the high-energy fluctuations.
Our recent study has revealed that the mixture of the dz2 orbital component into the Fermi surface suppresses Tc in the cuprates such as La2CuO4. We have also shown that applying hydrostatic pressure enhances Tc due to smaller mixing of the Cu4s component. We call these the orbital distillation effect. In our previous study, the 4s orbital was taken into account through the hoppings in the dx2-y2 sector, but here we consider a model in which of the dx2-y2, dz2 and 4s orbitals are all considered explicitly. The present study reinforces our conclusion that smaller 4s hybridization further enhances Tc.
Nickel-based complex oxides have served as a playground for decades in the quest for a copper-oxide analog of the high-temperature (high-Tc) superconductivity. They may provide key points towards understanding the mechanism of the high-Tc and an alternative route for a room-temperature superconductor. The recent discovery of superconductivity in the infinite-layer nickelate thin films has put this pursuit to an end. Having complete control in material preparation and a full understanding of the properties and electronic structures becomes the center of gravity of current research in nickelates. Thus far, material synthesis remains challenging. The demonstration of perfect diamagnetism is still missing, and understanding the role of the interface and bulk to the superconducting properties is still lacking. Here, we synthesized high-quality Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO2 thin films with different thicknesses and investigated the interface and strain effects on the electrical, magnetic and optical properties. The perfect diamagnetism is demonstrated, confirming the occurrence of superconductivity in the thin films. Unlike the thick films in which the normal state Hall coefficient (RH) changes signs from negative to positive as the temperature decreases, the RH of the films thinner than 6.1-nm remains negative at the whole temperature range below 300 K, suggesting a thickness-driven band structure modification. The X-ray spectroscopy reveals the Ni-O hybridization nature in doped finite-layer nickelates, and the hybridization is enhanced as the thickness decreases. Consistent with band structure calculations on nickelate/SrTiO3 interfaces, the interface and strain effect induce the dominating electron-like band in the ultrathin film, thus causing the sign-change of the RH.
The recently discovered layered BiS2-based superconductors have attracted a great deal of interest due to their structural similarity to cuprate and iron-pnictide superconductors. We have performed Raman scattering measurements on two superconducting crystals NdO0.5F0.5BiS2 (Tc = 4.5 K) and NdO0.7F0.3BiS2 (Tc = 4.8 K). The observed Raman phonon modes are assigned with the aid of first-principles calculations. The asymmetrical phonon mode around 118 cm-1 reveals a small electron-phonon (e-ph) coupling constant 0.16, which is insufficient to generate superconductivity at ~ 4.5 K. In the Raman spectra there exists a clear temperature-dependent hump around 100 cm-1, which can be well understood in term of inter-band vertical transitions around Fermi surface. The transitions get boosted when the particular rectangular-like Fermi surface meets band splitting caused by spin-orbit coupling. It enables a unique and quantitative insight into the band splitting.